Dayton Audio RSS460HO-4 18" Reference HO Subwoofer 4 ohm

The Dayton Audio Reference Series subwoofers take the quality and performance of the much acclaimed RS line into the subwoofer realm. The black anodized cone, rubber surround, and custom basket give this driver a unique, high-end look.

Product Details

Dayton Audio RSS460HO-4 18" Reference HO Subwoofer 4 ohm

The Dayton Audio Reference Series subwoofers take the quality and performance of the much acclaimed RS line into the subwoofer realm. As with the rest of the Reference Series, the main focus of these subwoofers is ultra-low-distortion. Second, third, and intemodulation distortion are kept extremely low by utilizing three short-circuit paths within the motor structure. A durable aramid fiber spider and extensive venting throughout provide quiet and uniform excursion. The black anodized cone, rubber surround, and custom basket give this driver a unique, high-end look.

A knock-down 4.0 cubic foot subwoofer cabinet built specifically for the RSS460HO-4 is available here. Save 50% off the price of the cabinet when you buy the cabinet and RSS460HO-4 subwoofer (at regular price) together in this package.

Warning: California residents only. Please note per Proposition 65 that this product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Reviews

Rated 4 out of 5 by _Haoleb from Good Value & Excellent CompanyI purchased two of these for the pair of subwoofers I built. I put these in a slot ported cabinet with 7.672 cubic feet internal volume. So far they have been excellent drivers. I am very pleased with the final product. I really did not expect an 18" speaker to sound so clean and punchy as they do. The quality of the speaker seems to be quite good for the price. I did have some issues with the drivers arriving damaged in transit but parts express was easy to work with and quick to send replacements. I do believe the packaging could benefit from being beefed up.I will say the cone is quite fragile. When installing the screws to hold the driver into the cabinet I dropped my small T handle hex wrench and it put a small dent in the driver about the size of a pencil tip. Certainly not as durable as the ultimax cone.Regarding sound quality- I know this is very dependent on system and cabinet but I have been very happy with the amount of bass these drivers will produce without flinching. I was concerned that a speaker of this size would be good for HT use but not so much music use which is more important to me. Let me assure you those concerns were not well founded.I have spent quite a bit on the mechanical cabinet design and construction and would be happy to share my efforts upon request. I think overall this driver is very good quality and an excellent value. I would give 4.5 out of 5 stars if possible because while very good it is not perfect.

Date published: 2015-03-01

Rated 5 out of 5 by Yawmean from Perfect Home Theater Sub.I'm using two of these in a Marty Cube build. All i can say is there awesome. These will make pictures dance on the wall. My 65 inch wall mounted tv shakes with the bass. I seriously can't think of one con for them. Quoted from my friend " I can feel the air being pressurized". I've had many setups and with these i feel no reason to upgrade. If i do i will be just adding more of these subs. Music and movies sound just sublime through these.It doesn't matter if its the latest blockbuster or old school Metallica.Great work Dayton!!! Last sub I'll ever buy!!!

Date published: 2015-02-12

Rated 5 out of 5 by Hank1510 from Awesome sub!I'm using this sub in a "full Marty". A large ported box tuned to 17hz. I'm powering it bridged with the behringer 3000dsp. What a combo!I have a large living room and open kitchen. One of these does the job for me, but there's always opportunity to get another!

Date published: 2015-01-12

Rated 5 out of 5 by tmh377 from Exceptional subwooferPut one of these beasts into a 10.2 cu.ft. ported enclosure, tuned to 19 Hz powered by a Yung SD500 (no boost) plate amp. Wow! Unbelievable output and clarity. This thing handles the cannon shots from the Telarc 1812 overture (Erich Kunzel- Cincinnati Pops,1979 version) at quite high volume. Star Trek - Into Darkness, no problem! I built this sub to complement my Hsu VTF3-Mk3, which is no slouch in it's own right. The Dayton Audio driver is built like a tank, I expect it will provide many years of awesome home theater and music. If you have the space to use a very large enclosure with this unit, I would recommend doing so to get the best out of it.

Date published: 2014-02-24

Rated 5 out of 5 by LannyBudd from WOW what a Subwoofer!I am using this in a 4 cf sealed enclosure that I bought from DIY Sound Group with the 1000W Dayton Audio Plate Amp and I was figuratively and literally blown away! At my house, this thing is called the "Sledge Hammer!" This is a very musical driver, even at high gain the different bass notes are very distinguishable. I was concern that this drive may not be fast enough to keep up with my front mains (Monitor Audio RX-8s) but this thing had no problem keeping up with the mains while playing Metallica's Motorbreath!I assemble everything on a Friday night and wasted my entire weekend playing everything from Wu-Tang to Beethoven. When I told my wife I was going to build a subwoofer, she just rolled her eyes but after I played Moonlight Sonata with and without the subwoofer, she was very impressed.Even as a home theater sub, this thing delivers!My only complaint is that this thing is heavy which makes it difficult to mount...and even that is not a real complaint.

Date published: 2014-02-04

Rated 5 out of 5 by chasby from Rebuilt My Old Velodyne ULD-18 SubwooferMy 24 year old Velodyne ULD-18 self-destructed (with multi-pieces of cone on the floor), and Velodyne told me that they have no parts left and don't support the speaker. I searched the Internet and found the Parts Express website and one very satisfied customer commented on how he resurrected his broken ULD-18. I called Parts Express and they responded that in respect for the privacy of their customers they would only contact that happy commenter and ask him to contact me. He contacted me immediately and sent several pictures of the process of installing the Dayton Audio 18 inch driver in the Velodyne cabinet and power it with the Dayton Audio SA-1000 amplifier. I purchased that combo from Parts Express, did an installation and balanced my whole audio system with my sound meter and I believe things sound better than originally with the Velodyne. AND the Dayton Audio driver and amp cost less than 25% of what I paid in 1989 for the Velodyne!!! So far, couldn't be happier!

Product Q&A

Get your questions answered from other customerswho own this product or have experience with it.If your question requires design or troubleshooting information,please email tech@parts-expresss.com for a prompt reply.

Dayton Audio RSS460HO-4 18" Reference HO Subwoofer 4 ohm

HT use; What enclosure dimensions & volume (accounting for woofer displacement) do I need to hit 17Hz, and what size and length ports? At a minimum I would use the Dayton 500 amp, 1000 if it is highly recommended.

Asked by: Trexas

Internal dimensions of 26"H x 22"W x 28" with two 4" dual flared ports at 24" long each will tune the enclosure to 17 Hz. I would recommend the 1000 watt amplifier for this application in order to get the most out of the woofer and have headroom available.

Answered by: MattP

Date published: 2015-03-13

Would this driver work in a downfiring setup? Speaking mostly to cone sag and long term survival....

Asked by: JimmyJim

Yes this woofer will work fine in a down firing application.

Answered by: MattP

Date published: 2014-12-31

Where is this driver made? I see the Titanic MK4 are made in USA and proudly display that fact. I don't see anything indicating country of origin on this driver.

Asked by: _Haoleb

This subwoofer driver is made to a high standard of quality in a medium-volume speaker production facility located in Taiwan, which ensures each unit gets a high level of attention to detail during assembly and testing. Reliability and consistency of our Taiwan-sourced drivers have both been excellent. The country of origin is indicated on the product label and is also printed on the product box.

Answered by: DaytonAudio_Rory

Date published: 2014-12-03

Frequency response says 20-500. But the frequency graph & impedance graph show it producing sound well over 1k. Whats the deal with this whole frequency response thing? Why would it not say 20-2k etc.. if the graph shows it reaching that high

Asked by: Dr Smith

They claim 500 Hz because this is where the response becomes non linear. Generally its not a good idea to cross an 18" driver higher than about 800 Hz anyway, but in this case 800 would be about the upper limit of useable response depending on application and crossover slope.